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Karora Resources makes new high-grade coarse gold discovery at Beta Hunt

Neil WatkinsonKalgoorlie Miner
Beta Hunt general manager Rob Walker with the high-grade coarse gold discovery sample.
Camera IconBeta Hunt general manager Rob Walker with the high-grade coarse gold discovery sample. Credit: Karora Resources/Supplied

Karora Resources has made a new high-grade coarse gold discovery at its Beta Hunt Mine at Kambalda underneath its renowned Father’s Day Vein which transformed the Canadian company’s prospects in 2018.

The company told the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday the new discovery was made on the 16 level of the A Zone, almost directly below the Father’s Day Vein discovery announced in September 2018 that yielded about 30,000 ounces of gold from a high-grade coarse gold structure along a strike length of only 10m.

Chairman and chief executive Paul Andre Huet said it was too early to estimate the potential size of the new coarse gold occurrence.

“It is a very positive development as the area was exposed during normal mine development and this additional high-grade mineralisation is not included in our mineral resource and is a bonus to normal mine production, which serves to lower costs and increase production,” he said.

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“As we have stated in the past, coarse gold occurrences at Beta Hunt are best described as periodic upside to mine production.

“We will not lose our focus on following a disciplined mine plan and controlling costs.”

Mr Huet said the Father’s Day Vein discovery had launched Karora on its current trajectory as a growing, profitable gold producer.

Karora, previously known as RNC, acquired Beta Hunt in 2016, and was actually seeking to sell the mine when the “once-in-a-lifetime” Father’s Day Vein discovery was made.

It included a 93kg specimen containing about 45kg of gold worth more than $3 million which was later given the name King Henry, and which is one of the largest of its type ever to have been found.

The discovery sparked worldwide interest and rejuvenated the company’s fortunes. It went on to acquire the Higginsville gold operation and mill between Widgiemooltha and Norseman in 2019, and last month closed an $80 million deal buying the Lakewood mill just south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Karora has its sights set on being a 200,000ozpa producer.

King Henry is currently on permanent display at the Perth Mint, and is named after airleg driller Henry Dole, who was credited with uncovering the astonishing find.

Mr Dole told the Kalgoorlie Miner in 2018 he had been in the profession for 16 years and had never seen anything like it.

“I’ve seen it in veins in the face but nothing like this — this was just everywhere,” he said.

“As I was drilling it, you could see the gold shavings coming out of all the holes and I thought ‘there’s something here’.

“And then after we fired it and I came in the next day and washed it all down, it was just everywhere.

“It was unbelievable and I’ve never seen it before in my life.”

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